Paris Switzerland Tour – 11 Days Itinerary
Are you looking for a Paris Switzerland Tour suggestion? Well, sharing a detailed 11 days itinerary by our guest author Chanchal Dwari.
Paris Switzerland Tour Summary
Starting location: Bengaluru, India
Tour Duration: 11 Days
Travel Month: May
Number of People: 3 (2 Adults + 1 kid -4 years)
Paris: 3 nights
Paris Disneyland: 2 nights
Luzern (Swiss): 5 nights
Expenditure (All inclusive): INR 4,40,000/-
Planning
Planning is the most important and exciting part of any tour. It imbibes a lot of positive energy and motivation to our daily life. You must plan your holidays for at least 6 months in advance.
Important points to remember, whilst planning for Paris Switzerland Tour:
- The places to visit and day-wise plan
- Where to stay
- How to Manage local travel
- What to eat and where to eat
- How much is the entry fee for POI (Point of Interest)
- Where to spend more time
- Which airlines to book
- The time to apply for Visa
- Most importantly how much to budget
We initiated our planning by first and foremost deciding on where to start and where to end. Our starting point was fixed, Bengaluru in India. We were debating on whether to start from Zurich and end in Paris. Or to start from Paris and end at Zurich. After several deliberations, we concluded to start from Paris and end at Zurich.
Air Tickets
We all ardent travellers are aware of the numerous websites available to book tickets. My suggestion is to check the deals at Booking.com for your Paris Switzerland Tour. Book the tickets as per your budget and preference.
Booking.comAfter a lot of research and analysis, we found the cheapest fare to be in Emirates. They offered a discount at that time. One important fact we learnt from this process was, you must never start on a Friday and return on a Saturday. It is always better to travel in the weekdays as that's the cheapest option. We started on a Thursday from Bengaluru and on a Sunday from Zurich. We had selected multi-city option and our ticket cost was 99,000 INR (for 3 of us 33k-INR per person). If you plan early you will get it within 40k-INR / person from BLR, BOM, DEL, or CCU. CCU may be a little expensive as you have limited choice.
Hotels
I always prefer Booking.com as I like to stay in hotels with complimentary breakfast. We did the same for our Paris Switzerland tour. In Paris, we stayed in the Etoile Park Hotel for 3 nights. It is a small hotel, situated in a very good location. It is a budget hotel with a good breakfast. The hotel is near to the metro station, at a walking distance from “Arc De Triomphe”. We paid a total of 315€ for 3 nights.
Our next destination was Paris Disneyland. We stayed in Disney's Hotel Cheyenne for 2 nights. We paid a total of 806€ as a package price including Food and Park tickets. They have free pickup drop facility to the nearest Railway station “Gare de Marne la Vallée Chessy”. The hotel bus is available just outside the station. You do not need to provide prior information to the hotel.
The next planning of our Paris Switzerland tour was Luzern (Switzerland). We stayed for 5 nights at Continental Park Hotel. It was within 2 minutes walking distance from Luzern railway station. We paid total 1050CHF including breakfast. It is not a budget hotel, a 4 star one.
Visa
Guideline to apply for Schengen visa for Paris Switzerland Tour; you need to apply for the visa at the embassy, where you will be staying for the maximum number of days. Our stay duration in France and Switzerland was equal and our port of entry was Paris. We had to apply for a visa at the France embassy. The Visa application process is not very complicated. You need to provide all the relevant documents as mandated by the visa office. It typically takes 2 – 3 weeks to process the application. If your documents are all clear, you can even get the visa within a week. We applied through VFS Bangalore France embassy and got the visa within 1 week.
Eurail Pass
Book “Eurail Pass” (2 country pass) well in advance for Paris Switzerland Tour. They will deliver the pass to your home by courier within 7-10 days. Local travel is very expensive. It is recommended to purchase the pass. I booked for 1st Class pass “7days within 1 month” for 650€ (52k INR) for (2Adults+kid free). Eurail Pass provides you with a lot of benefits. We got a 50% discount on Mount Titlis ropeway ticket and a 25% discount on rail ticket from Interlaken OST to Jungfraujoch.
Tour Description
DAY 1
Day 1: Our flight was from Bengaluru to Paris via Dubai. After reaching Paris we took a taxi from Airport to Hotel (Etoile Park Hotel). We were charged 50€ for the taxi. After proper rest, we explored the local areas in the evening by walking. We were awestruck by the beauty of “Arc De Triomphe” at night.
Dinner was at McDonald's (My favourite). (15€)
DAY 2
Day 2: After breakfast, we started our day @ 9:30 am. We took the BIG BUS Hop-on-Hop Off tour. It cost us 70€ (2A+1C) for one day pass. We took a lot of photographs in front of all the destinations covered by the BIG BUS. The prominent places were:
- Louvre Museum
- Notre Damme
- Grand Palais
Lunch: Starbucks, Dinner: European restaurant (Buffet) Total (45€)
DAY 3
Day 3: After Breakfast we started @ 9:00 am from the Hotel. We took a train to the “Palace of Versailles”. The travel time was of approximately 1 Hr.
Route: “Charles de Gaulle – Etoile- Wagram” to “Bir Hakeim / Gare cham de Mars Tour Eiffel” to “Gare de Versailles Chateau Rive Gauche”. We walked for 11 minutes to “Palace of Versailles”. Be careful of theft in the train. They sometimes create an artificial crowd to fool the tourists.
We had to stand in a long queue for the tickets to the palace. It took us almost 40 minutes to enter the Palace. We spent almost 3 hours inside the palace and the garden.
Next, we came back to “Gare cham de Mars Tour Eiffel” by train. Took the Eiffel tower ticket for a top-level view. We spent a considerable amount of time at the tower, clicking pictures and shopping. We returned back to the hotel by Train.
Lunch: Street Food, Dinner: MCD (Total 30€)
DAY 4
Day 4: After Breakfast we started @ 8:00 am from the hotel. Took the train to “Gare de Marne la Vallée Chessy” for Paris Disneyland. The travel time was approximately 1 hour and was comfortable.
To our amazement, the place was well-organized. The hotel bus was waiting outside the station. We reached the hotel (Disney's Hotel Cheyenne) at 9:15 am. The check-in process was easy. Our room was not ready. We decided to keep our luggage at the hotel and venture out. We took the pass for the park entry. The park opening time is 10:00 AM. We enjoyed the entire day at the park. You can even use the pass for afternoon snacks and dinner to some specific restaurant. The list of restaurants is mentioned on the pass).
DAY 5
Day 5: Disneyland Park. The park hosts a lot of events and shows. You must follow the program schedule, else you may miss many events. My son was very excited to watch his favourite cartoon and fiction characters – Mickey, Mini, Spiderman and others.
Don't miss the Disney Castle Laser show at night.
DAY 6
Day 6: Started our Journey to Luzern.
Route 1: “Gare de Marne la Vallée Chessy” to “Paris Gare de Lyon” to “Basel” to “Luzern” with 2 changes. Travel time 5 – 6 hrs.
Route 2: “Gare de Marne la Vallée Chessy” to “Strasbourg” to “Basel” to “Luzern” with 2 changes. Travel time 5 – 6 hrs.
Based on the time schedule, you can select your route. We followed Route 2. The trains are high-speed ones (TGV) between “Gare de Marne la Vallée Chessy” and “Strasbourg”.
We reached Luzern at 2:00 pm. Checked in to the hotel and started our day at 3:00 PM. The cruise at lake Lucerne was free for “Eurail Pass holder”. Our cruise timing was around 4:00 pm. Please collect the information form from the Tourist Information Center at Luzern station. The Cruise at Luzern lake was beautiful and stunning. After returning back from the cruise, we embarked on a walking tour at Luzern. We visited Chapel bridge, Rolex watch showroom, and Old swiss house.
Lunch: Train pantry and Dinner: European restaurant near Chapel bridge. (Total 60 CHF)
DAY 7
Day 7: Breakfast at the hotel was very good. We started our day early as we had plans to reach Mount Titlis in the morning and Zurich in the afternoon.
We started at 8:00 am towards Engelberg by train. The travel time was 45 minutes. From Engelberg “cable car” tickets are available to travel to Mount Titlis. We paid 90 CHF for Cable car tickets (discounted fare for Eurail Pass holder).
Mount Titlis was spectacular and the “cable car” experience was unparalleled.
We came back to Luzern at around 3:00 pm and went to Zurich. It is a clean city and you can spend a wonderful time in the evening
Lunch: Managed with packed food and Dinner: MCD (Total 24 CHF)
DAY 8
Day 8: We started our day at 8:00 am. Our plan was to go to the Rhine falls in the morning and Mount Pilatus in the afternoon.
The journey time from Luzern to the Rhine falls via Zurich HB was 2 hours. The place is good yet not very impressive.
We came back to Luzern at around 2:00 pm. From Luzern, we started for Mount Pilatus. From Luzern to Alpnachstad, we travelled by train. We boarded the cogwheel train from Alpnachstad to Mount Pilatus. The tickets for cogwheel train were separate. We paid 100 CHF (No discount for Eurail pass holder).
View from the mountain was excellent and the train journey was awesome.
Lunch: at Zurich HB station (lot of options) and Dinner: MCD (Total 35 CHF)
DAY 9
Day 9: We started our day very early @ 7:30 am. Our plan was to go to Jungfraujoch.
Route: Luzern to Interlaken OST (1hr 45minutes). Next is from Interlaken OST to Jungfraujoch.
The train between Interlaken OST to Jungfraujoch doesn't come under Eurail pass. You need to purchase the ticket for this train. We paid 308 CHF (after discount). That train journey was out of the world, traversing through the ice and tunnels.
The place was captivating with excellent views of the snow capped mountains.
Lunch: Managed with packed food and Fruits, and Dinner: European Restaurant @ Luzern (Total 50 CHF).
DAY 10
Day 10: We started our day @ 9:00 am. Our plan was to go to Geneva. The travelling time from Luzern to Geneva s 3 hours one way. Geneva is a wonderful city. We enjoyed the lakeside walk to the fullest. The lunch at the lakefront restaurant was superb. We went shopping and bought one memorable cuckoo watch from Geneva.
Lunch: Geneva, Dinner: Packed food. (Total 45 CHF)
DAY 11
Day 11: Time to go back home. We took the train from Luzern to Zurich Airport. Our 7 days Eurail pass was fully utilized.
Expense Details:
| SL No | Description | INR | Euro (INR73) | CHF (INR71) | INR Converted |
| 1 | Air ticket | 99,000.00 | 99,000.00 | ||
| 2 | Visa | 6,500.00 | 6,500.00 | ||
| 3 | Hotels | 1,121.00 | 1,050.00 | 158,728.75 | |
| 4 | Rail, Cable Car, Metro, Big bus | 95.00 | 498.00 | 42,927.40 | |
| 5 | POI – Fee | 145.00 | 10,743.78 | ||
| 6 | Eurail Pass | 650.00 | 48,161.75 | ||
| 7 | Taxi | 2500 | 50.00 | 6,204.75 | |
| 8 | Food | 1200 | 90.00 | 214.00 | 23,290.46 |
| 9 | Shopping | 195.00 | 390.00 | 42,553.88 | |
| Total | 109,200.00 | 2,346.00 | 2,152.00 | 438,110.75 |
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